The Wedding Pillow

We were married on September 13, 1987. We have a pillow that says so — although it almost didn’t.

The ceremony took place at the conclusion of The 3^rd Annual Oysterville Croquet and Champagne Gala here in the garden, just before the awards ceremony. The Gala was a fund-raiser for the Water Music Festival.  Our wedding was a surprise to everyone except Judge Penoyar (who did the honors), Gordon Schowe (my ‘bridesmaid’), Roy Gustafson (Nyel’s best man) and my son Charlie (who flew up from California for the occasion).  No one else knew or suspected – not my mother or father (the hosts), not my Uncle Willard (the Master of Ceremonies), not any of the 100 or so attendees!

Among the guests were the Frank Family – Merona and Marty and their sons Michael, Steven and Danny from L.A. with a summer place in Seaview.  They were ‘friends of friends’ and we had met for the first time as we were registering teams before the festivities began.  They were charming and I’m sure I hoped that we would get to know them better but, truth to tell, I was more than a little distracted.

The surprise wedding came off without a hitch.  Michelle Kischner, daughter of Water Music president Ann and 3^rd grader in my classroom, took my bouquet (supplied by Gordon) for Show and Tell the next day.  The ceremony made headlines in Wednesday’s paper and, several months later we received an elegant throw pillow with our names and the wedding date stitched on it – from the Franks in California!

But… the date was wrong.  What to do?  I finally decided to mention it in my thank you note – casually, as a quirky happening that would remind us forever of the day.  “SEND IT BACK!” she replied.  Not a request; a demand.  So off it went.  Several months passed and back it came.  Date corrected but this time… Nyel was spelled Nyle instead.  I hadn’t the heart to tell her.

The following summer, Marty and Merona were at our house (for a party? a dinner? I’ve forgotten) and Merona spied the pillow and the mistake. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.  I told her I just didn’t have the heart but, not surprisingly, the pillow went home with her and she had it redone… again!

“Oysterville Croquet Gala” by Norma Walker

When we attended Michael Frank’s book-signing in Seattle earlier this month and I asked him to personalize his book The Mighty Franks for us, I said (as I always do) “…and it’s N-y-e-l.”

“Yes,’ he said (was there a smile in his voice?)  “I remember the pillow!”